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Beginning in the early 1970s, China and the United States built trust and common
prosperity through cooperation at the local level. The work of two hundred sister city
pairs and over forty sister state/province partnerships was reinforced by state and city
trade and investment promotion offices, chambers of commerce, Chinese American
and traditional clan associations, Chinatown cultural centers, and various and sundry
activities at US colleges and universities, secondary schools, church groups, and
museums. Following the establishment of the pioneering Washington State China
Relations Council in 1979,” centers for joint innovation and entrepreneurship, such as
the Michigan China Innovation Center? and the Maryland China Business Council*
were set up in nearly every state. Twenty-seven states now maintain trade offices in
China—more than in any other nation.* Americans of Mainland, Taiwanese, and
Hong Kong ancestry have founded cultural centers like the Asia Institute-Crane House
in Louisville, Kentucky,® and the China Institute in New York.’ After forty years of
engagement, the US-China focused foundations, educational and exchange programs,
research institutes, and arts and entertainment initiatives throughout the country
are too many and various to be cataloged. American mayors, county executives, and
governors—many of whom travel to China often and host an unending stream of
Chinese visitors—have leveraged the work of these groups to enrich local coffers and
local culture.
American Communities as Targets
While American local governments value such “exchanges” for financial and cultural
reasons, “exchange” (2¢iit) has always been viewed as a practical political tool by
Beijing,* and all of China’s “exchange” organizations have been assigned political
missions. The US-China People’s Friendship Association, for example, has over thirty
sections across the United States that promote “positive ties.” While its activities
are not usually overtly political, the USCPFA Statement of Principles includes the
following: “We recognize that friendship between our two peoples must be based on the
knowledge of and respect for the sovereignty of each country; therefore, we respect
the declaration by the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China that
the resolution of the status of Taiwan is the internal affair of the Chinese on both sides
of the Taiwan Straits.”? Some 190 Chinese Students and Scholars Associations!’ (CSSA)
at American colleges and universities (see the section on “Universities”) also promote
local exchanges and, in some cases, political activities,"! as do the 110 Confucius
Institutes in America. The China General Chamber of Commerce-USA was founded
in 2005 to build stronger investment environments for Chinese companies through
local corporate citizenship programs planned by its six regional offices and municipal
State and Local Governments
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